Archive for September, 2011

We’ve all seen the ads on TV boasting “For less than the price of a cup of coffee a day you can (insert advertisement here).”

And while this cliché has undoubtedly been abused in the past, the underlying message has a certain level of validity.

IT’S ALL ABOUT VALUE

Most of us are willing to shell out up to $5 for our daily non-fat, tall, skinny moccachino fix and yet will loudly proclaim that the costs of keeping our pet’s health up to par are too high.

So let me ask you this: how much would you be willing to pay to ensure your pet’s health?

$0.50 a day?

$1.00 a day?

$5.00 a day?

As they say in advertising, it’s not about price; it’s about value.

When it comes to supplements, there are a multitude of shapes, sizes, prices and claims. But what makes one more ‘valuable’ than another? That, my friends, is strictly a matter of perception.

EASIER ON THE WALLET, BETTER FOR THE PET

Would it surprise you to learn that the average pet supplement costs between $1.00 to $5.00 per day? With most pet owners giving up to 2-3 supplements on average that works out to quite a chunk of change.

But what if you could replace some of those supplements with a single chewable tablet?

Most pet supplements are aimed at managing a current condition such as joint or skin issues. But wouldn’t it make more sense to go deeper and target the system responsible for regulating how the body responds to stress in the first place?

OXIMUNOL CHEWABLES: ONE SUPPLEMENT-MANY BENEFITS

At present, more than 2,000 dogs have experienced the benefits of Oximunol Chewables and the word on the street is that these dogs are doing wonderfully.

From improved mobility to increased energy and better skin/coat health, these dogs are showing signs that are consistent with an improvement in immune function.

It’s a sight all pet owners are familiar with: a small tuft of fur glued precariously to your pant leg or adorning the collar of your favorite shirt.

Whether you have a Collie or a Corgi, a Mastiff or a mutt, if you have pets you have shedding. Period.

With the warm weather here at last you might notice that your dog’s fur is more airborne than normal. This is because Spring/Summer is the time of year when many breeds will “blow” their heavy winter coat to help cope with the hot and humid weather.

While this increase in shedding is inevitable for many dogs, it doesn’t have to be the nuisance it used to be.

Here are some quick tips to help keep your dog’s shedding at bay:

BRUSH YOUR DOG OFTEN

The fur that your precious pooch sheds as part of his or her natural shedding cycle doesn’t have many places to go once it falls out so chances are pretty good that it will eventually end up stuck to your furniture or wandering across your floor. Brushing your dog reguarly helps to loosen and remove this fur and keeps it from ending up on your couch.

BATHE PERIODICALLY

Regular baths are part of good doggy hygiene, but once the warm weather arrives baths become especially important to help remove any shedding fur.

INVEST IN SEAT COVERS

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense and even the best supplements and brushes will not completely put an end to your shedding woes. To protect your furniture and help contain pet hair consider using seat covers which can be easily removed and laundered when fur gets out of hand.

STOCK UP ON LINT ROLLERS

This is the holy grail of pet fur removal and if you have pets that shed you simply must have several of these on hand at any given time.

FRUGAL TIP: Don’t like spending a fortune on disposable lint rollers? Rubber gloves are a quick and economical way to remove fur from furniture and clothes. Simply dampen and wipe – the fur will collect into little clumps which you can easily pick up and dispose!

TRY SUPPLEMENTS

Skin and coat health is often an indicator of overall health so supplements that boost your dog’s immune system and control inflammation can help reduce excessive shedding. Speak with your veterinarian to see if your dog’s skin/coat could benefit fromsupplementation

VACUUM AND CLEAN UP HAIR OFTEN

I know…. No one likes having to haul out the vacuum cleaner all the time to suck up those annoying tumbleweed tufts of fur. But like it or not, the more you keep on top of the problem, the less of a problem it will be in the long run. And since shedding hair likes to move around and stick to things such as carpets and furniture you will save yourself a big headache down the road if you get a jump on cleaning today. Remember: the more you clean the easier it is to pick it up!

DIET

Since skin and coat health can be an indicator of overall health, if you’re not happy with how your dog’s fur is looking the first place you should look is their diet. Is it properly balanced and does it contain all the nutrients your pet needs? Do your research and don’t forget that your best source of information is your veterinary team – don’t be afraid to ask for their advice!

REGULAR CHECKUPS

Veterinarians check your pet’s skin during checkups to make sure there aren’t any skin issues or allergy problems. Sometimes excessive shedding can be a sign of a metabolic or hormonal problem so if you are concerend make an appointment and speak with your vet.

Bottom line is shedding is a natural process that is important to your dog’s health and helps keep him/her comfortable during the warmer seasons. While it can be a nuisance, it doesn’t have to rule your life.

You get a paper cut and within minutes you experience pain, redness and swelling.

Not very pleasant, but you can thank your immune system for mounting the proper response to keep your body safe from harmful bacteria.

Unpleasant as it might be, this physiological response is a critical part of the body’s immune process. Underneath that red, sore skin is a complex biological reaction that is aimed at keeping you safe and harmful pathogens out of your body.

When it comes to inflammation, our pet’s bodies are not much different from our own. The same telltale signs of inflammation seen in ourselves can also be seen in our furry companions.

Is your pet’s body sending out an S.O.S?

When the body detects harmful pathogens, the damaged or injured cells in the immediate area send out distress signals that set the inflammatory response into action.

Nearby cells also get involved, releasing a series of biochemical signals, known as cytokines, which radiate from the site of inflammation and form an important road map to allow immune cells (such as macrophages) to locate the site of injury.

Once on the scene these white blood cells go to work engulfing and destroying the harmful pathogens and eliminating the associated threats.

Do you know the difference between Acute and Chronic inflammation?

In acute inflammation, such as our paper cut, the immune system will mount an appropriate response, send out white blood cells and destroy any harmful microbes.

Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is the result of an immune system that has run amok and continues to send out distress signals even in the absence of any pathogens.

Chronic inflammation is a sign your pet’s immune system is out of control

In chronic inflammation there is a faulty distress signal causing the body to continue to release cytokines and the immune system to send out white blood cells unnecessarily.

In the absence of any actual pathogens, the white blood cells will start to attack healthy tissue, which then prompts the release of more cytokines. And the cycle continues, wreaking havoc on healthy cells and causing widespread damage to tissue.

An important potential trigger for chronic inflammation is excess weight. In the past, fat was thought to be an inert tissue that didn’t have any specific biological significance other than to provide insulation and quick energy. New research suggests that fat plays a larger role than once believed.

In fact, fat is now considered to be an active part of the endocrine system and has direct influence over the release and regulation of hormones. It is for this reason that overweight pets (as well as humans) will develop insulin resistance.

Environmental pollutants are another potential common cause of chronic inflammation, constantly bombarding the body with harmful substances that may send the immune system into overdrive.

Chronic inflammation: the silent disease that might be hurting your pet from the inside out

When there is acute inflammation it is easy to spot: redness, swelling, heat and pain are all telltale signs that an acute inflammatory response is underway.

Identifying chronic inflammation, however, can be trickier as there are often no specific symptoms present.

In some cases, the chronic inflammation can cause specific diseases, such as arthritis and allergies; however, in many cases the symptoms of chronic inflammation can be too subtle to detect.

In fact, often the only way to detect chronic inflammation is using in vitro methods to detect the presence of certain proteins.

But while chronic inflammation might not be outwardly apparent, on a cellular level the damage can be severe.

Fighting the invisible killer by strengthening your pet’s immune system

Since chronic inflammation causes very few outward signs at first, how can we fight it?

The key, it seems, may lie in altering the balance of the immune system, including helping regulate the inflammatory response to prevent it from spiraling out of control.

Oximunol™ Chewable Tablets have been shown to support immune function, which can lead to a reduction in the symptoms associated with chronic inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and dermatitis. It is likely for this reason that pets taking Oximunol Chewables can exhibit reductions in shedding, improvements in skin/coat quality and increased mobility.